A few asked in my recent comment section to share a photo of the new kitchen faucet. Why? I dunno. But since inquiring minds wanna know, here it is...

The brand is a Mohen [is that how it's spelled?]

I took a short drive to Packery Channel to see what the traffic was like. Not bad. Saw a very pretty sunrise over the causeway. But, I didn't stay away from home long as I had a promise to keep at home...

Then, I was out helping Bud trim all the crepe myrtle bushes in our front yard to get rid of the seed pods from last Fall. So, I took my cellphone and snapped a couple of photos of some bushes that are blooming now in our yard. So many [mainly the hibiscus] got frozen again this winter...two years in a row. And they were just coming out of the shock this past autumn, froze again, and I don't know if they'll come back. My hybrid hibiscus [the mini blossom, varigated leaves] has a lot of new spring growth. For which I am very happy. And the Tombstone Rose [Lady Banks] is beginning to bloom profusely...I'll get a photo of that too in a bit. For now, two I share...the gardenia's first blossom for the season, and the plant called "Mexican Fire Bush"...

My newest book to read is a twist on the assassination of the Lincoln conspiracy; a subject that has held my interest for decades. The author claims to be a distant relative of JWB, and he is proposing that perhaps John Wilkes Booth was NOT the one captured outside of Washington D C, but an accomplice. And that Booth lived under an assumed name. I am interested in how this comes about, the author's facts, the perhaps new evidence that could possibly be feasible. I doubt it, but I guess anything is possible. Especially if you consider today's times and how our government "covers up" many events to appease the American people. I will tell you want I think when I finish the book. Truth or "Fake News"?

To make a long story, short, for weeks I've been looking for Isaiah's favorite toy. The "tail" has long been chewed off and thrown away, but the ears still remain. He has played with this from day one when we brought him home after adopting him. But it disappeared. For good, I thought. Then, dusting the venitian blinds behind the entertainment center...there it was!! Trust me it's as small as it looks! Perhaps an inch and a half...two inches tops. I was pleased to find it, but not as much as El Diablo [aka Isaiah].

After quite a bit of yard work and picking up around the house, indoors, I was ready for a nice hot shower and a quiet evening with TV on and watching a new FBI on CBS. But first, hot BBQ pork sandwiches, home made potato salad, tossed salad and carrot cake for desert. By now, all clean and spiffy and ready for an hour or two of reading after watching TV, I will don my sleep shirt...

I don't give a rat's A$$
It's just how I feel these days.

§ Tickle Me Elmo...

There is a factory that makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms.

Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 am.

The next day at 8:45 am there is a knock at the Personnel Manager’s door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new Employee.

He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the two men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo’s all over the factory floor and they’re really beginning to pile up.

At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo’s. She has a roll of plush Red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.

The two men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo’s legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena.

“I’m sorry,” he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, “but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday.”

“Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles.”

§ People Watchng - Mall Walking

Going nowhere often these days, I'm relying on photos from my many sub-folders on the computer.  I knew these nonsensical photos would come in handy sometime or other.  This particular day in June, and I got a late hour start, so I walked in the mall. Boohoo...I hate walking in the mall - the scenery never changes. Oh ya, maybe a little bit for the seasons, still it's the same ol' same ol....shoe stores, gothic, sports, jewelry, department stores like Macy's, Penny's and Dillard's. Did I mention shoes? Bud and I counted once, and there were 17 shoe stores in the mall. The food court and the free samples are the best part for me. But, I took out my trusted phone and snapped here and there:

It's a two story mall and in open areas, there are aquariums:

- - - -

A new store [where Toys R Us used to be] intrigued me, so I stepped thru the threshold and browsed. Kinda fun for the little kid in me! An employee was stuffing an animal....two identical ones for a set of twins that the mom was keeping happy with something new and lovable. The kids were all excited, watching their new pal being made right in front of their eyes! Actually, comparing prices online and these many many choices to choose from, the price isn't all that bad. $35 for two?!! That's only $17.50 for one. I've seen stuffed animals for a LOT more than that online. And, come to think of it, the gal working there had a real 'cush' job...sitting instead of on her feet for the hours they're open for business.  And then with another thought as I type, it's a good thing they didn't have Houston Astro's ORBIT to stuff, or I would've been toting the greenie baby around with me all morning while tallying my steps.....

_ _ _ _

Speaking of sports. This store had totems. I had to get photos of my favorite teams that were in the front section by the door, [couldn't find the Colorado Rockies OR the Arizona D'Backs]. I didn't go inside the store:

Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Houston Astros


_ _ _ _

Then, CANDY!!!!! I'm not much on chocolate candy....white chocolate I like [no caffeine]. But gimme a maple nut bar and I drool. Ever since childhood I've liked maple flavored candy, and with added walnuts...yum. Oh and I figured since we were on the subject of sweets, maybe some good, sweet, eye candy here would be a bit tantalizing?  Does the last photo whet your appetite any?  Tho long gone from this world, dying of cancer, Steve McQueen can still get my heart in tizzy!!

To end my journey through the petri-dish of a mall, I decided, what the heck....I'll eat lunch here.  If I caught germs from kids coughing, adults sneezing and who knows what else, I might as well sit and let the body invaders fester.   Chicken Teriyaki with steamed rice from Sarku Japanese Bar:

After finishing my meal and people watching while my food was being digested, about an hour later, I left. As I exited to walk to the covered parking garage, it was like I opened the furnace door to add more coal....a blast of HOT.

§ Another Day - another glitch

It's been trial and error for the last couple of days....connecting with my laptop. I'd get connected, then, go into blogger admin and open up a new blank page to begin composing a new post, and it became frozen at "loading". I tried several times throughout the day, and always nothing. Sat down and watched the 'human' version of Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  Then, on Monday after lunch, I was going to use my hour time I limit myself a day sitting at my desk, to perhaps work on a post. I would get connected, but "no internet" .... "try again". I finally gave up on the whole shebang. Rebooted laptop, cleaned cache, and tried one last time today...I'm now online, with internet, and everything is hunky dorie!!

Here goes nuttin'....

When I was a kid, my dad brought me a gift when he returned home from his travels. It was a "Thirsty Bird". As a child, I was completely fascinated by it. Just the other day, I was at Hobby Lobby walking around looking for off white enamel paint for an in home project. Well, I didn't find the paint I wanted, but at one of the end-caps they had what they said was "Fun Stuff". I browsed the few shelves there, and I found "my toy" from my youth. Of course, if you don't know, you know now....You can use your phone and get a paperless 40% coupon. I grabbed one of the thirsty birds, and checked out, using my coupon....

Read about it at Hobby Lobby and the physics of how they work, HERE

Another thing that was giving me fits was trying to draw a horse. Tried a few times, didn't like it...tossed it. Then, another inspiring idea...a sail boat sketch...nope, nada. That too was tossed. While I was working on my sketch pad, Bud was cleaning out the library book shelves....I got up from my tablet, stored my art pencils and started to dust, wax, and clean all the hanging pictures and frames on the wall. Here is one that has been around since our Tucson days...it's titled Sonoran Serenade.  [Tucson is in the Sonoran Desert] I painted this coyote and cactus, along with the Tucson Mountains in the background...out of our front room, we could see the Tucson Mountains [this area is where a lot of western movies were filmed], and out our patio doors we could see the Catalina Mountains. Anyway, the painting is done in acrylics....

...and, since there has been so many damp cloudy days here of late, the two of us have been working on some Spring Cleaning. Well, we got all the library done. That's a chore...dusting each individual book [trust me hundreds of books and growing] - shelves, drapes and windows, furniture. Yay. We did the hall bathroom from ceiling to floor. Finished the dining room...curtains, windows, glass dolphin collection, inside and outside of the hutch and table and chairs. Oh ya....who is the 'idiot' that got the brilliant idea to frame bird photos?!!!! Dozens of frames, each collage frames with eight individual frames within a frame. But, they're done.  I hope to have some SUNNY days to get back out in the great outdoors. Enough cleaning for a while.  Besides, I am to get a package delivered today that I've been wanting to test out...in the SUN....another camera gadget.

One more thing that just recently got done...I cleaned out one of the computers' bird photo folders. And burned them on a disc. i don't do Flickr or any of those online clouds...I keep them safe, and on discs...who knows if Flickr will go belly up or we change cloud carriers? This way, I have them. Oh, and there were 4487 photos!! 8 GB total.  Who knows how many are on the other computer?  I'm in no hurry to get to going through THOSE.  lol

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While going through the bird photos and all the other photos, I came across some that I thought you may enjoy...



This cute little red-head was a handful of terror for her mother....she was not 'wild'...but hyper active. We are at the Texas State Aquarium, and at the dolphin tank [underwater]. She was so cute, I couldn't resist asking mama for permission to take her picture.


...speaking of hyper active,..so is Isaiah! Here he is with his laser light!



It's gotten to the point he loves this!!! He can be in another room, sound asleep [or so we think], and he hears the click of the button on his 'mouse light'...here he comes running at top speed ready to chase!



It looks as if he has an alien helmet on his head...,but that is a glass, nautical, ball light behind him.

All righty then, I'm gonna call it quits for the day and pre-schedule the post to publish.  We'll chit chat again soon?

§ The Week That Was...

Lily Blossoms, a toy, books, and more today...

I don't know where to begin actually, so I'll just post the photos I have and write as I go along...

This week, I've been a bit hot under the collar!! Yep, Thursday South Texas reached 100 degrees by mid afternoon! Not here, but just a short hour's drive from home. Needless to say I've been either cooped up indoors; mostly reading. Or, outside in the early morning, taking care of things that are becoming parched. We need some rain to help with the drought. Typical. One month, flooding and the next month...dry, dry, dry!!

- - -BOOKS- - -

Shakespeare was one of my favorite subjects in English Literature in school. When I was perusing the table of "Summer Reads" in Barnes and Noble this book popped out for me!! In Julius Caesar [Shakespeare] -In Act 2 Scene 3, the soothsayer Artemidorus writes a letter to warn Caesar about the plot against him. “If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live,..If not, the fates with traitors do contrive.” THE BOOK, Fates and Traitors is about a famous family in American History, -a family of stage performers who often did Shakespeare's plays, an historical novel...of the Booth family. They, of course, were well-known across the globe in their time...before the Civil War, and during the Civil War. Of course, the main character of the book is John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln's assassin. But, this book is a bit different than any historical reads...it's about the women who loved him...his mother, his sister, his betrothed, his co-conspirator. IT WAS EXCELLENT for the most part. Some dry areas, but the book as a whole is a must read for those that enjoy reading novels based on fact. The author takes you through JWB's life, his family, his love for the South, even the author's view of how the once planned kidnapping of Lincoln turned into an assassination!! The ending chapters uniquely wraps it all up with how the women in his life lived, loved, and perished from a hanging, old age, and more!!

And, just the other day, after finishing Fates and Traitors, I began reading a non-fiction book, Mrs. Sherlock Holmes, on a true story of the first female U.S. District Attorney and a case of a missing girl that awed the nation back in 1917.  Once I finish the book, I'll most likely do a review.

-Lilies- 

Tho it's not Easter, my Easter lilies have been blooming this past week or so...

-Pomegranates- 

..and a few pomegranates are setting on our tree. I'm sure the birds will find 'em before they mature and ripen around November...




-Coupon from Hobby Lobby-
While Bud was at Half Price Books, I walked over to Hobby Lobby. And used the coupon from the store. I really don't need another stuffed animal, but it was so soft and irresistible. A three-toed sloth that I named Triple T  [no relation to Triple P on NCIS New Orleans] -- --


,,,did you know this> Sloths have extra neck vertebrae that allows them to turn their heads 270 degrees? It's a fact!!!


-Orioles and Dollar Store-


When I was working on balancing the bank accounts, from the dining room window I looked out to our bird feeding station just off the patio, and noticed a male Baltimore Oriole at the empty suet bowl! Well, that very day, I had to go to the Dollar Store for some cleaners and ended up buying three rag mops. What I did with the mops was simple...and much more 'cleaner' than hanging orange halves on the wooden fence. This is what I did...I tore off the rag strands of the mop and left the plastic 'cup' on the end of the handle. I then inverted the mop, stuck the metal handle into the ground, and with the cup upright, I set an orange half inside. Voila!!! An instant, no mess, Oriole feeder!! All for $1. each!!! By late in the afternoon, I had six more Orioles enjoying the oranges!!

§ Miniscule .. Elephant in the Palm of my Hand

Long, long, long ago, just 'cause I thought the concept was sweet, I purchased one of those solar powered bobbling daises in a pot. They're small and don't take up much room. I got home and placed it on a window sill. The continual, unrelenting, motion of the daisy dancing in the sunlight is quite comical...comical 'cause our two cats were at first confused at this piece of plastic 'monster flower' moving. Okay, so that got me started. When I was back at the store searching for Valentine stuff for decorating my tables and mantel, I spied another one of these contraptions that had to go home with me. All for the love of entertaining the cats. I'm evil that way. hehehehe But, now get this, I found two more at the Trade Center the last weekend we were there walking around. Y'all know Bud, if you follow my blogging much, likes the Oriental nick-knacks and he always has to peruse the two little stores inside the center that carry everything Oriental. As we were walking out one, I saw near the cash register's counter, in the display case, two adorable Oriental solar powered bobbleheads, A geisha girl and a little white bearded wise man. They too came home with me. Now I don't think it'll become a collection obsession, but I do think they're darned cute.


The Daisy and Elephant -- The Elephant's ears and trunk bobble, the flower and leaves bobble in the daisy pot.



The Geisha Girl and 'Confusius' dude --The Geisha's head bobs up and down in agreement while the man bobblehead shakes his head in disagreement. Figures!!!


connecting to:
Saturday Photo Hunt [challenge - miniscule]
Camera Critters

§ All Terrain Armored Transport [AT AT] vs. Alien

Today is a great day for a burrito...extra spicy with lots of jalapenos!!!!








Lots o' play with these two images....its Star Wars vs. The Alien here!! The All Terrain Armored Transport is in "hot" pursuit of the Alien. [I never did like Sigourney Weaver much, did you? LOL] "Take that you nasty creature!!! No birthin' on MY Imperial planet". ZAP!!!!!





ZAP
Verb:
Destroy or obliterate: "zap the enemy's artillery".
Noun:
A sudden effect or event that makes a dramatic impact, esp. a sudden burst of energy or sound.
Synonyms:
verb. kill
noun. energy - vim - vigour - vigor - zip


May Categories for Photo Hunt
5th * Zap
12th * Scoop
19th * Magical
26th * Creative


When I was doing the Spring Cleaning back in February, I had to scrub these two movie figures [with a bottle brush to get in all the hidden crevices!]. Luckily, I took a photo of each after hosing them down ---making it possible to use them both with the prompt "zap". With a lot of Paint Shop Pro effects added of course! They've been in my possession for decades ---both belong to Erik, they were HIS toys when a youngster.





CONNECTING TO:




_ _ _


WEEKEND FUNNIES



You might be a redneck Jedi if ...

You prefer the phrase, "May the force be with y'all."
The doors on your X-Wing are welded shut and you have to climb in through the windows.
You've used a light saber to light the barbecue grill.
The disturbance you detected in the Force was last night's baked beans.




What did Obi Wan say to Luke when he tried to eat bantha pie with a spoon?

"Use the FORK, Luke."

Yoda and Obi-Wan walked into a bar and bought a 5 dollar drink.
Yoda, seeing that he only had 4 dollars asked Obi-Wan, "Have a dollar do you? A little short I am."

President Obama was awakened one night by an urgent call from the Pentagon.
"Mr. President," said the four-star general, barely able to contain himself, "there’s good news & bad news."
"Oh, no," muttered the President, "Well, let me have the bad news first."
 "The bad news, sir, is that we’ve been invaded by creatures from another planet."
"Gosh, and the good news?"
"The good news, sir, is that they eat reporters and pee oil."